Gisei nu Suru: To Sacrifice

Chapter 1: The Genin Exams

"Alright, that concludes the written exam! Now we will adjoin for lunch, which will last an extra hour today so that we can grade your scores. Stay on the academy's grounds & when the bell rings everyone will meet back here for the last part of the graduation exams. I will call you in one by one for your final test which will be a practical demonstration of the jutsu that we've all been focusing on for the last year. Do your best everyone!"

A chorus of, "Yes, Iruka-sensei!" rang out before the academy students started to talk amongst themselves as they headed outside. As Iruka collects their papers, he scans the answers that his students came up with for the last question. It won't actually go towards their scores, instead it is meant to give their new sensei some insight into who their new pupils are, while also prompting the students to reflect on what their own expectations are for their chosen career.

What does being a ninja mean to you?

So far, the answers are what he had expected of his students. Most of them express similar ideas of becoming strong to protect their home or family, making their clans proud, showing off cool jutsu, & the usual response of "Troublesome" from Shikamaru. Iruka chuckles as he finishes gathering them all before taking a seat at his desk to start grading them.

As time passes, he finds more unique answers for the last question that he had overlooked before. Answers that make him pause, even if it's just for a few seconds.

Never being good enough for my clan, no matter how hard I try…

I'll become acknowledged and accepted by the villagers!

Learning to believe in myself.

To endure.

To sacrifice.

Iruka sighs as he leans back in his chair, taking a moment to let his gaze wander to the window. The students can be seen doing various things such as playing ninja or eating their lunches. His eyes drift along to the edges of the field where there are a few stragglers scattered about, keeping their distance from the more rambunctious cluster. A chill slowly settles under his skin, even though it's warm & sunny outside.

"May your flames burn white in the black of night." Iruka closes his eyes as he murmurs the Fire Country's blessing before returning to his task at hand.

[GnS]

"You've known we'd be tested on these jutsu for how long now, and you still can't do it successfully?"

"That's besides the point! It's not like I haven't been practicing it, I was just saving it for last. I can do the other two jutsu no problem now! They just took longer to get right than I thought they would…"

Naruto trails off as his gaze drops to the ground. Sasuke's frown softens at the dejected look on his best friend's face before he sighs as he looks towards the tree line where their fellow students lie beyond. "I know you still feel uncomfortable asking for his help, but isn't that what he's there for?"

"It's not that! Kashi's just been busy a lot lately so I don't wanna overload him and stuff. Especially when I can just pester you into helping me instead, right? I'll forever be in your debt!" Naruto eyes widen dramatically as he clasps his hands together in front of him. Sasuke can't help the chuckle that bubbles up at the sight.

"Alright, alright. Hurry up and show me how bad your clone jutsu is and we'll go from there."

"Hey! I never said it was bad, it's just not very good yet!" Naruto bursts out as he prepares to do the hand seals.

"Right, that's why you made sure to drag me out here into the woods where no one else can see your 'not bad' attempt."

"Exactly! Clone jutsu!" Naruto exclaims as a loud popping sound & smoke erupts from him. Sasuke waves some smoke away as he stares at the pitiful sight before him.

"No need to worry about being in my debt, Naruto. I doubt there's much hope of improvement in a case as severe as this." Sasuke deadpans as they both just stare at the grossly deformed & sick looking clone twitching on the ground.

[To Sacrifice]

Chouji bolts upwards at what sounds like a fight coming from just behind the trees as Shikamaru merely turns his head towards it. Naruto & Sasuke can be seen tumbling out from the woods in what appears to be a fistfight while the former shouts something about Sasuke being a shitty teacher.

"Do you think we should break them up before they hurt each other? We have the next exam after lunch still." Chouji says, staring at them in concern. Shikamaru eyes them before turning back towards the clouds.

"Nah, we only have another 20 minutes left and it doesn't look serious. It's just their usual antics. It always fizzles out before too long, so let them deal with it."

It's not like they would actually listen to you. What could someone like you even do anyways, besides be a bigger target?

Something that's not quite a voice, but somehow more than a thought whispers in the back of Chouji's mind as his eyes drop downwards. Chouji slumps back onto the ground, leaning against a tree as he says, "Yea, you're right. Don't know what I would even do to stop them."

Shikamaru studies him out of the corner of his eye as Chouji pulls out a bag of chips & starts to devour them. Concern about his best friend's disheartened tone of voice prompts him to shift his focus solely over to him.

"What do you mean? You have a natural talent for peace-keeping. Just look at all the times you've helped save me from Ino's tirades, for example. Or when we'd ditch class with Kiba and Naruto. Thanks to you, we only got detention half the time."

Shikamaru may not know what exactly causes Chouji to have these moments of low confidence & belief in himself, but he has learned to recognize the signs of it. At the sight of Chouji's smile & eyes lighting up, Shikamaru reaches out for a handful of his chips.

'He may not always believe in himself like I do, but I don't mind sharing. I'll just have enough faith in him for the both of us until he's able to see it for himself.'

[GnS]

Ino watches from a dozen feet away as Sakura's eyes follow Sasuke as Naruto drags him into the woods. She would be lying if she said it didn't send a spark of jealousy through her at the sight. She shoves it aside as quickly as it pops up though in favor of laughing at how Naruto obliviously steamrolls past a blushing Hinata who tried to stutter out a greeting to him.

"Geez, how dense can he be? He gives blondes a bad name." She remarks to Fuki who starts laughing with her. It's too loud & sounds too fake, grating on Ino's ears. Sakura glances over at the sound though & Ino can see how her face saddens at the sight of the two of them together before she looks back down at her lunch. Ino feels an immediate wave of vindictive pleasure at the look on her face before it inevitably starts to fade into remorse.

Ino shakes her head as though to clear her thoughts, just before she spots Ami Watanabe making her way over towards the oblivious pinkette. She moves towards them without even bothering to offer an excuse to Fuki. It's not like they're actually friends anyways. She sees Ami put a hand on Sakura's shoulder who immediately tenses up before turning & standing up to look at the purple haired bully.

Sakura was expecting Ami to track her down sooner or later, but she was definitely hoping it'd be at least after she finished her bento. Ami had tried to cheat off her during the written exam earlier but Sakura had pretended not to notice, instead turning her test face down upon finishing it shortly afterwards. She knew it would anger Ami, who had taken to bullying her once again when she noticed that Ino had been distancing herself from Sakura. Sakura has tried to stand up for herself but it just made the bullying worse so she usually opts for a passive approach to make it end quicker. The impending graduation made her feel more brave though as she's 100% certain she'll pass, after tomorrow she won't have to see Ami again who will most likely fail herself at the practical test at the very least.

Not that she would ever say that out loud to Ami's face though, instead just repressing her words for Inner Sakura to feast on.

"What the hell, Billboard Brow?! I know you hid your answers from me on purpose. The only thing you've got going for ya is that ginormous forehead so you might as well make it useful! You're gonna wish you had stayed home today after I'm done with you!"

Ami's face is turning red with how angry she is, she's sure she bombed that test & it's all Sakura's fault. She reaches out as though to smack Sakura who's eyes suddenly harden into a cold jade color as she feels an abrupt, fierce surge of anger swell up from deep within her as Inner Sakura is roused by Ami's words. Her arm almost unconsciously starts to come up in the beginnings of an uppercut.

It goes limp barely a second later though as she is shocked by seeing Ino step in front of her who then uses the back of her left hand to push Ami's extended arm out to the side. Ino follows it with a shove from her right hand into Ami's unguarded torso, effectively forcing the bully to step back unless she'd rather fall from the momentum. Ami immediately loses all bravado in the face of the blonde heiress to the Yamanaka clan, instead choosing to swallow her pride as she offers apologies for the 'misunderstanding' before dashing back to where Kasumi & now Fuki are waiting for her. She throws a wilting glare at Sakura the moment Ino turns around to look at the pinkette.

"You've been giving me the silent treatment for months, Ino-Pig. Why are you interfering now, instead of hanging out with your new friends?" Sakura asks with hurt clear in her voice, making Ino wince before gesturing for them to sit down on the bench Sakura had previously been at.

Ino had just acted without thinking when she saw that Ami was about to hit Sakura, she was originally just going to walk by & verify for herself that Ami hadn't started harassing Sakura again. Fuki had previously let slip a few concerning things that made Ino worry about Sakura. Ino felt too ashamed of how she'd been treating Sakura herself since their falling out over her feelings for Sasuke though to do much more than to try to keep an eye on their interactions. Ignoring her best friend had wound up only causing Ino just as much pain as it seemed to have inflicted unto Sakura.

Sakura is still waiting for some kind of response from Ino, hoping for an apology for the blonde's behavior but fearing some kind of ultimatum along the lines of 'it's me or him'. It can be a toss-up with Ino sometimes, which way she'll go with stuff like this. Sakura's mother said once when she told her about their falling out that it has to do with Ino losing her own mother so young, & to try to be patient with her.

"I just want things to go back to the way they were before all this. I've missed you, Forehead." Ino finally whispers as she looks earnestly at Sakura who offers a small smile at her words.

Sakura instantly notices the lack of an actual apology so she continues to wait patiently for Ino to finish, knowing the blonde has trouble doing so & would rather leave it unsaid rather than to accept any blame. Ino really hurt her this time though with ignoring her for so long & hanging out with one of her bullies, so she's not going to just give her an easy out. As the minutes pass without her saying anything in response, Ino grows increasingly fidgety & darts her eyes around to double check that no one else is within listening range before she finally offers up an apology.

"I'm sorry for hurting you like this, and for acting friendly with Fuki. It's not like it was Ami or Kasumi though, I'd never sink that low! Fuki was only just barely tolerable as it was, she's such a suck-up and fake. I'm sorry I used her to hurt you... it hurt me too, if that helps you feel better. It just made me miss our friendship so much more, I'm sorry Sakura! Please forgive me."

At the sight of Ino's eyes starting to glisten with tears, Sakura wraps her arms around the blonde in a hug. Sakura lets out a few sniffles as she reassures Ino that all is forgiven & that she missed their friendship just as much. After a moment, they settle back into their seats as Sakura offers Ino some of her lunch. As they eat, they watch their fellow students & chat. When they spot Hinata sitting off in a corner, Ino makes a comment about how Naruto had obliviously blown her off earlier & that the Hyuuga was even more meek than Sakura used to be when they first met. Sakura pauses for a moment before sliding her gaze over a few yards to where Ami's crew are now bullying a civilian-born brunette boy named Hibachi into buying them sodas.

Since she first became friends with Ino years ago, a question has been present in the back of her mind. Always shoved back there when it comes knocking again only for Inner to silence it, like every other thing Sakura lacks the strength to face herself. She feels it rising up to the surface again as she returns her gaze to Hinata, who is dainty & proper, easily telegraphing her clan status even when she acts meeker than a mouse. Graceful, perfect hair, fair complexion, well-spoken (aside from when Naruto's present), even calming just to be around... unlike herself who has to exert so much effort just to be half of those things. To be even half the lady her mother tries her hardest to groom her to be. Sakura is still riding off of the high from knowing she aced the written exam, being free from Ami soon, & mending the rift with Ino to top it all off. Her mouth starts to move before she's fully aware of it.

"Ino," Sakura draws the blonde's attention to her, hesitating the instant Ino's ice blue eyes meet hers.

"Yes, Sakura?" Ino asks as she gives Sakura her full attention, noticing how serious she sounds.

Sakura can feel herself losing her resolve as she looks at Ino with her perfect hair, who displays countless similarities with Hinata. Really with all fellow clan-borns. Much more than she does with someone like her, a civilian-born from an immigrant merchant family. Inner tugs the question back to where it belongs as Sakura's insecurities win the battle once again. Instead, another question replaces it.

"What about Sasuke-kun?"

Sakura doesn't want to risk another argument so soon, but she has to know that things aren't just going to explode between them again over Sasuke. The constant anxiety of potentially losing Ino again at any time would drown her. The prospect of giving up on Sasuke seems impossible though, her heart sinks at the mere thought of potentially having to choose.

Ino instantly tenses at her question, looking away towards the woods where she can vaguely hear Naruto shouting. She had hoped that Sakura wouldn't bring that up, would just let it die or forget about it. Ino doesn't want to think about it, not so soon after mending things between them. The blonde hardens her icy gaze as she looks back to Sakura, about to tell her off for being so insensitive and selfish but stops short at the look on her friend's face. Ino can see just how much this question matters to the pinkette, how she seems to be actually bracing herself for the answer. Ino can't help the delight that pops up inside her at the thought that her words still matter, still have so much influence over the pinkette even after their fight. For a cruel moment, Ino ponders if she could make Sakura let go of her silly crush on the Uchiha if she truly forced her to choose between them, especially so soon after reuniting with her...

Ino's eyes slowly thaw the longer Sakura holds her gaze however, and a feeling akin to shame tickles her heart. Ino just wants their friendship to be like it was before. It's just a crush, it'll pass soon enough after they graduate & get some distance. She just has to put up with it for a little while longer.

"What about him? Come on, Sakura! We're about to become official kunoichi after all. If I can't accept you crushing on Sasuke Uchiha then how am I supposed to become a kickass ninja? I've matured during our time apart so give me some credit, Forehead." Ino boldly exclaims with a smile, before allowing a more serious expression to replace it.

"You know how I feel about him so I'm not gonna lie & say I approve of it, but I'm also not going to try to ruin it for you. As long as you promise not to rub it in my face or start ditching me for him, then I promise I won't allow him to get between us, Forehead. Not again." Sakura nods eagerly with earnest eyes as she brings up her right pinky finger.

"I promise, Ino-Pig!" Sakura exclaims as Ino wraps her own pinky around the other girl's.

"It's a pinky promise then." Ino offers a smile as they shake on it, Sakura's warmth helping to soothe the blonde's lingering concerns.

'It's just a crush, after all. It'll pass soon enough.'

'Ino never ever breaks her promises so I'm sure things will be alright from now on.'

The sounds of Sasuke & Naruto tumbling out of the woods fighting causes their hands to break apart as a crowd starts to move towards the fight.

'Right?'

[To Sacrifice]

As the rest of the students finish getting back in their seats, Iruka wraps up his lecture to Naruto & Sasuke concerning the fistfight they got into.

"This is the kind of behavior that would be expected of new students! You are mere steps away from becoming official shinobi of Konoha, act like it! Now get seated, you've already made everyone else wait long enough." Iruka pinches his nose, & sighs as the two boys walk off after he dismisses them.

"Handful, aren't they?" His fellow teacher, Mizuki, jokes as he hands Iruka the clipboard with a list of all the students names in alphabetical order by their last names.

"Two handfuls, really. I suppose we should get started unless we want to be here all night, eh? I know you're eager to get off before dark. Must have some kind of hot date tonight!" Iruka lets out a little laugh as he teases Mizuki while they take their seats in the small adjoining room where the tests will be conducted.

"Something like that..." Mizuki answers with a glint of something in his eyes. "Well, I believe that the first student is the Aburame boy, isn't it? Let's call him in."

Sorry it took so long to post this! It's actually just been sitting ready to go for several weeks now, just haven't had a chance to post it till now. The first few chapters will probably be a bit short until the characters are more developed & the plot starts to pick up. I'm not going to be describing everyone's outfits or everyplace's design as they are largely the same as they are in canon. When that changes, I'll start detailing the differences in their appearances. I look forward to your guesses as to who gave what answers to the last question on the test! I thought it was an interesting way to kinda give more insight into the characters mindsets. All of the answers belong to characters that have appeared in this chapter.

AU elements/relevant backstory mentioned in this chapter:

1* The Konoha academy requires a passing grade in both a written exam & a physical exam which entails demonstrating basic kata forms, basic fitness, & the three academy level jutsu which alone makes up 50% of the score. The jutsu portion was only worth about 33% of the final grade, until the previous year when Rock Lee still managed to graduate with a 0 in the jutsu portion because he aced the other portions. This forced the administration to restructure the grading system due to backlash from higher ups & clans for allowing a student with such a severe chakra disability to become a Genin, which poses a potentially fatal risk for any squad he's on.

2* Naruto knows Kakashi Hatake already, he refers to him as 'Kashi' when he was talking to Sasuke. This will be addressed more in depth down the road, but here's an explanation for now: Naruto's parents still die during the Kyuubi rampage the night he was born. Hiruzen attempted to honor Minato's wish to ensure his son was taken care but village politics & hiding Naruto's identity prevented him from doing much more than visiting Naruto, who got slotted into the best orphanage in the village, on a semi-regular basis in private. Jiraiya was busy being spy master, Kakashi was drowning in his own depression/guilt & ANBU duties to even be considered as a suitable guardian, & basically politics/duties stopped the couple other people who had a personal interest in raising him doing so. After the attempted kidnapping of clan heiress Hinata Hyuuga in what's known as the Hyuuga Affair, Hiruzen was able to move little 4-years-old Naruto into his own apartment in the center of the village & had ANBU covertly watching him 24/7. Kakashi was mainly the one who watched him whenever he was in the village, & the only one to really 'interfere' on Naruto's behalf when shit would happen if it wasn't an emergency. Naruto was about 9 when he was first introduced officially to Kakashi who had been cleared to act as a sort of guardian/mentor to the boy by the council after some questionable things went down in the village, & cause Naruto was being a general troublemaker with his prankster antics. Naruto has very little respect or trust in adults due to the bullying from the villagers, aside from a few that have basically proven themselves to be 'safe'. He views Kakashi as someone who is required by his job to look after him, & views him as an actual person instead of how the other villagers see him. He knows in his mind that Kakashi is supposed to be a safe place for him to come to, but due to Kakashi being his normal distant self & generally clumsy at socializing, they have not been able to actually build a real, personal bond between them yet.

3* Naruto & Sasuke have been friends for 4 years at this point. Sasuke reached out to the boy initially as part of one of his mother's (Mikoto) last wishes before her death, but grew to actually care about Naruto after getting to know him.

4* Ino's mother was killed a little more than 4 years ago while within the village. This will be explored further in the future. This has deeply affected Ino, who struggles with insecurities & abandonment issues particularly concerning her relationship with Sakura who Ino views as her only real & true friend at this point. Ino befriending Sakura is the same situation as it is in canon, they've been friends since roughly age 6. Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji all know each other from before the academy due to family gatherings & are aware that they will be placed within the same squad should they all graduate together as part of their families' tradition. Ino doesn't view them as friends though, more as lackeys due to their passivity in regards to her bossing them around.

5* Sakura's limited known backstory in canon is largely the same in this story. Main thing of note is that her maternal grandparents & parents immigrated to Konoha shortly after the end of the 3rd Shinobi war. They are well-known as merchants. Sakura herself was born within Konoha. Sakura will still have an Inner Sakura in this, usually referred to by Sakura as 'Inner'. Sakura can't remember a time when Inner wasn't present within her, & is grateful to have her. Sakura's mother has always strongly pressured Sakura to dedicate herself to being a proper lady as she's been taught to be & to strive to be a merchant like her family is, but her father supports her desire to be a ninja.

6* Ami, Kasumi, Fuki, & Hibachi are all as they were in canon. They were fellow academy students of the Rookie 9.

7* Iruka adding on that last question to the final exam to graduate is something he's been doing for a few years now. The different answers will be referenced a few times in future chapters.